John Key says struggling small businesses could be at risk if Waitangi and Anzac day are Monday-ised.
Speaking on Firstline this morning, the Prime Minister said it would cost the economy $200 million, 0.3 percent of GDP, which could affect employers.
“There’s a lot of small businesses in New Zealand and they are struggling and we’re trying to keep them afloat and keep them in their jobs,” he said.
Last year Waitangi Day fell on a Sunday and Anzac on Easter Monday, which meant New Zealanders had nine public holidays instead of 11.
But Mr Key said although that was annoying, New Zealand still had a decent number of public holidays.
National MPs will discuss a Member’s Bill on the issue in caucus this morning.
Mr Key also talked about yesterday’s flu-scare at Auckland Airport.
He said he thought officials took the right steps of action.
“I think it was the right thing to do.”
Ms Smalley also asked Mr Key about public service cuts.
He said there would probably be redundancies at some point and across the board trimming.
“We don’t think the current structure is efficient.”
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